Postponement

With less than six months left until our planned release date we can see that we're behind schedule. We thought it best to communicate this now rather than later. We also want to reprioritise current development goals in a way that is more satisfying for you and easier to manage.

Rather than rush to release something incomplete or just keep you waiting we thought to release a prelude which only requires a subset of the game's functionality while we take our time completing features properly and fleshing out the game world. While quite different in scope from the final game this will still be a very enjoyable game in its own right. Besides building a small independent plot (which ties in with the world's lore) no work would go into this that isn't required for the main game and most of the team will be working on other aspects of the game anyway. What it will allow us to do is bring a number of core features to completion first and continue developing others and the world without trying to do everything at once.

We have a somewhat atypical development process in that rather than pile on playable content we develop large complex systems that can deliver content more efficiently and drive it more meaningfully. It's never as simple as add a new character, animation, dialogue or object; everything is part of big unified totality that must support all aspects and instances of those things. We've seen how this can be frustrating for our backers because until these systems are complete there's not much to see. This is fundamental to our design though, we want everything to be playable and interactive in many ways, not just one; we want a reactive and dynamic world that feels real, where there's depth and substance to everything, not just surface. We also believe this is a good strategy for a small team like us working on a project of this scale, our limited resources don't really allow for a more brute force approach.

Much of what we're aiming for is very ambitious and without many precedents but we've been consitently achieving the ambitious goals we set for ourselves. What we weren't prepared for when we set our release date is the difficulties we would encounter in the Kickstarter campaign and the level of quality people were demanding on every front. We assumed that as an indie team trying to do things differently some things would be forgiven. This critical response has driven us to achieve higher quality standards than we were originally aiming for and this has been very time consuming. This is obviously just a natural result of not developing a game behind closed doors but opening ourselves to frequent feedback. We weren't prepared for this and we've probably been putting too much effort into pleasing all our fans. When you want more and better we wholeheartedly agree, this for us is the game, not just a game. As we've said before, our intent has always been to deliver a game and then continue to improve it and expand it after release, providing these improvements and new content as free updates. Many of these improvements have taken a higher priority than anticipated. Sometimes it has been counterproductive to make premature improvements to unfinished things but often feedback has led us to significantly upgrade important features that would have been difficult to change later.

Our current goal is to complete a playable version of this prelude and release it to our alpha level backers. We've come up with a simple design that should give it great replayability and make it a good platform to experience and test many aspects of the game. Keeping it separated from the bulk of the main game content should also provide an unspoiled and more exciting experience when it is released. Also planned for this prelude is the ability to duel your friends on LAN with characters you build in the single player experience. The prelude will be set in the underworld and some years before the full game's plot takes place. It will be story driven but without the more dynamic event system and NPC interaction which we are still developing.

We're going to take our first and only holiday over Christmas to visit friends and family and we plan to release an alpha version of the prelude in February. As we continue work on the main game we will also be adding completed features to the prelude. More complete versions of the prelude will be released to beta and then all backers more or less in line with our original release date plan.

We hope that you can forgive us for this delay and that you know we are fully committed to making this game as good as it can possibly be.

Comments

Amen guys. Take your time. I'd rather see a great final product delayed than a crappy version released just to appease shareholders... if there were any, of course. Can't. Wait. But I will of course ;)

The game looks already quite beautiful and interesting. Yup, some animation still could use improvements, and the one thing I think you should prioritize is a good battle system. But take the time you need. Or, to quote game developer legend Shigeru Myamoto: "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad."

I'm in the same mindset as some of the other backers here - I generally expect KS projects to run a little late due to the nature of crowd funding, open development etc. I'm perfectly fine with the extra time required, I hate it when games get rushed out (*cough*Atari*cough*).

I can find it in my heart to forgive you guys any tardiness. I can see just from what you've completed you have your heart set on making a great game, and that tells me enough about your motivators. I'd rather have to wait and see it get done right, than have it rushed and end up with wasted effort.

Thanks for the update and sincerity! I believe everybody has seen your effort on delivering a high quality game, with an outstanding virtual environment; so I will be glad to wait and see the wonderful game that will come from this project!

I would honestly allow you guys until May 2015 before I bitched. I expected this game to get delayed the second I read about it and pledged, I didn't expect you guys to have it out before 2015, so if it even releases in 2014 - you're faster than I expected.

Take your time guys :D excellence requires patience and hard work. The miniature adventure will certainly garner you some extra attention that I thoroghly believe you deserve. Especially with some streamers playing LAN games. It'll be great viewing!

Everything you've shown looks great, and if you haven't shown other stuff for fear of spoilers or because it simply isn't done then, kudos. You'll definitely have to roll with the punches as some are less constructive (ie: mean) with feedback than others, but just keep in mind that complaints are always the loudest. There are a lot of folks who are wholly impressed and have no complaints to voice, and faith in the product you want to deliver on.

The scope of this project was always daunting, as a fan of what you're doing and what your engine and physics based combat could mean for other developers and story tellers I'm happy to wait. If at all possible a Steam Greenlight Alpha would be great to play around in and also help fund further development.

I don't mind this delay at all. I don't even need the core game. Delays in game development are normal, especially when everyone's a critic.
Take your time, make this awesome and deliver it to me when it's done.

I'm really happy with everything I've seen so far. This focus on a well developed toolset could pay pig dividends in terms of user generated content as well. As always, Kickstarter is a place for betting, not buying, and I'm glad I bet on this project.

I expect Kickstarter games to be late, and getting a separate game from this is a bonus. From my point of view having the best possible game at release time is what a game needs. This brings in the good reviews and hype. When the game is updated later perhaps it will get some better reviews later, but the early ones still linger. So IMO as long as the funds hold just continue to polish.

It's spectacular to read through these other backer responses. I think we all hope you guys realize that this level of firm support and understanding is a direct result of the direct openness, honesty and on-the-level communication with your backers. Looking forward to the final product, so exciting to watch it happen.

Sounds like a good plan. Once you have functionality, release a mini game so people can test it out, and have a sense of what it is like, and then scale up to more complicated/larger game that we all know will be fantastic.

I agree with everyone else in the thread here about the release date, but I also want to say thank you so much for starting to release alpha/beta builds. I'm a software developer too, and know how hard it is to hit deadlines, especially for a really ambitious project.

There are so many benefits to releasing early and often - you get more feedback, people are reassured in your progress, YOU are reassured that you have something playable (as opposed to something really complicated that isn't fun), and you have something to iterate on.

Honestly, I think you guys should consider releasing these versions to the public eventually, similar to how the development went for Minecraft. Of course, it would be nice if us backers go to see it first, but putting it out publicly can be extremely helpful to keep your team going and get exposure. You could get more non-backers to pre-order your game (or pay for the beta/alphas separate of the kickstarter), you'd build up a bigger fanbase, and you can collect more money to fund your continued development!

From what I have seen of your team so far, I am confident you all have the skills to make an amazing game. However, I think there is an infinite work to be done, so I would suggest that you focus on the most important core elements of the game and then go from there - we all know you will continue to improve it, so it doesn't need to be perfect the first time around.

If it is going to cost you additional time (money) to provide a prelude, I am happy to do without. Like most people, I have a massive backlog and frankly, I'm just happy to have the final product with the necessary level of polish.

Thank you everyone! We didn't expect quite so much understanding and support, it's very encouraging and motivating.

As for budget, although we're limited in what we can do we've established a baseline for expenses that can keep us going. We also still have contributions trickling in via PayPal and hopefully the prelude will help boost these.

In case there's any confusion, the prelude will be available to all backers. Alpha level backers will receive earlier versions sooner and then beta but everyone will get it.

Dealys are expected in this sort of development anyway and I, as many others would rather have a great game delayed than a mediocre game released on time. That said, do be careful about the money. Now that you're stretching the schedule, the original budget does not apply any more.

Just give us the best game you can possibly make and if the quality is there, sales will follow.....cause Im gonna gush like crazy to friends on Steam like I always do when an awesome game gets into my hands XD

I greatly appreciate the step you've taken to make known the progression of the development of Sui Generis at this point in time. However, I wish that you could commit to communicating with the backers on a regular basis. For instance a monthly basis would work just fine. Use that as an opportunity to make known to all backers the issues you've encountered in development as well as the reach out to backers with concerns to the chorus of feedback from the community on particularly popular topics. This way the backers stay in the loop and can maybe have the chance to participate in important decisions. As for the delay, it is a necessary part of ensuring that Sui Generis meets your vision as well as the vision of the community to a certain degree. The presented mechanics of Sui Generis are ones that I have only dreamed and thought of. You are making those a reality with this game. So by all means push back the release date and take holidays as necessary to deliver on the game we've all been hoping for.

Agree with Aerouge, open up a method for fans to back you with further funds. I'm so glad I backed you at alpha level on a whim! Run over time by all means, we're not in any hurry, but don't forget to budget money for the extra development time.

Take all the time you guys need, but keep in mind that you are running in a budget.It is better to shave some corners than to run out of funds 2 months before finalisation and release unfinished(we all know and hate those games).

But one question though. The prelude will only available to alpha backers? That is harsh guys as I am stuck in beta tier and you provide no way to update yet. So you really want me to pirate the prelude? ;-)

Keep up the great work guys and thank you for the update.
From my own point of view, I have truly appreciated the tweak's and revisions you have made based on our feedback.
Hopefully you will allow us to continue to deliver critical feedback and help drive the quality factor of the game to new levels.
Taking the extra time to deliver a quality product is more than just a case of us 'forgiving you', I believe most of us expect you to take the extra time, especially as many of the delays are due to direct feedback from the community.

We can always buy a half finished, low quality, bug ridden piece of software from any of the current AAA publishers.
What we can't buy is a quality game that is unique & deep, as an indie developer we place all of our hopes and desires onto you (rightly or wrongly), the humble indie developer is the gamer's last hope of a quality game.
The trade of is we aren't going to hold you to a time line, take all the time in the world to get it right. I'll still be here cheering you on when you cross the finish line this time next year!

Thanks to the whole team for all your hard work over this year and I hope you all enjoy your time off with family and friends.

No grudges held for some delays, I much prefer the open honest "we can't make this as good as it ought to be unless we spend more time" to a premature, lesser release. I have faith that you'll see it through, which is actually more than I had when I first backed the project, when I just thought the technologies you had made and were planning to make looked interesting and thought that kind of development would result in good stuff for game making in general, even if I weren't sold on the game itself. (I've since become more convinced I'll actually enjoy the game as well :) )

That being said, I'll echo the point made by several others; a bit more frequent updates would not go amiss. Every update doesn't have to be a video of a new feature, just a quick communique about status "we've been working on this", "tweaked pathfinding to solve this problem", "been thinking about this". What everyone loves about kickstarter projects is the feeling of being involved, and a lot of people have great interest in details you might consider too technical or tedious to go in a press release. That kind of newsletter keeps those less dedicated to trawling the forums updated and fosters general goodwill in the community.

That sounds great, I really like this plan. Having something playable that will not spoil the main game and wont set back development too much is fantastic! I can't wait for February :D

Taking more time for the final product because of an increase in quality expectation is another good thing. Despite there being plans for a constant stream of free updates to be made to the base game, the level of quality the game is in on day 1 is very important. Really glad you guys are willing to take as much time as you need. Keep it up!